He will keep a secret until two hours after he dies
by Aunt.Sue.NihgCharthaigh
Summary: At the end of show 2 there was an explosion. Min and Yoo were in that explosion. Is it possible they could still be alive? Can a vampire last through that much power; that much pain? Can a human? ...and what happens when that wonderful vampire growth is exactly the wrong thing?
1. Chapter 1

**As we are all well aware, I do not own even the most remote part of Vampire Prosecutor. If I did, I'd get more competent people to write the closed captioned section!**

_I would like to point out that all of these chapters are unnaturally short. This is not without precedence. One of my favorite authors wrote a half page chapter about a whale falling toward a planet. I, however, am neither rich, nor famous, nor knighted nor nicknamed pTerry, so I'm trying for two pages. See you on the other side!_

_Chapter 1 _

Min Tae Yeon's teeth sunk into the flesh as if biting into a leg of lamb. The oh so sweet blood filled his mouth and slid down his throat It had taken him half an hour to get here, making the blood taste flat but his body craved it so much, it hardly mattered its stale source.

He drained this piece of man and crawled to another. Healing bones and muscles complained, but Min ignored their protest. The blood would be of no use soon enough. This second had drained into the dust and concrete from the blast.

Part of Min's skull had been crushed when the bomb when off. Legs were broken; one shoulder dislocated; ribs collapsed into his lungs; his back had been flayed of skin. Any other man would be dead. Min, though, was a vampire. Very little could kill them. As long as the mind and heart maintained their connection, a vampire would not die.

Mind and heart… It was a close thing. Both his mind and his heart had been damaged. Min would not be the same man as he was before the blast.

He'd had just enough time to cover Yoo with his body before the charge went off. Thus he received the greatest injuries. Still, Yoo Jung-in was in much worse condition than he. She was no vampire to gain a smooth clean body, moments after a cut. Even still her blood sank into the bricks and mortar she lay upon. If he didn't do something quick, she would die.

He noticed an arm midway down one of the largest mounds of debris. He quailed at the thought of the effort involved, but it looked to be his best chance.

One thing Min noticed as he climbed was that the worst pain came when he needed to breathe. It wasn't something he would normally have to do, but in the process of repair it became mandatory. He tried to hold his breath and found the going much easier. He would pay for it later.

He sank his teeth into the arm that presented itself and was almost giddy with the result. The body had died moments before. It was fresh blood! Min drank and drank, draining the body; replenishing his.

Then the pain hit.

It tore through his body like nothing else he had experienced before. He doubled up and went sliding down the mound of rubble. He couldn't breathe; he couldn't move; he couldn't think. It seemed like hours the agony ripped through him. visions of the blast from his viewpoint meshed with visions from this mercenary. The man had arrived just in time to lose his life. The force seemed to come from everywhere crushing his muscle and sinew, mind and soul. When it subsided Min knew the vision must have lasted no more than 10 minutes but the aftermath left him shaken and trembling.

Min could barely move but time was running out. There was but one chance for Jung-in. He didn't think, he just moved. Dragging himself to her with just his forearms then bringing his wrist to his mouth; he tore a hole sufficient to let his blood flow easily. Quickly he pulled himself beside her, bringing her head close enough to take the blood. He ignored the bright flash of pain it entailed. Tae-yeon had to force Yoo's lips open if she were to get the vampire nourishment but he didn't think once of the consequences.

The first few drops did nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Please don't let her death be too long or my mistakes keep her from rising!_

Clenching and releasing his hand he was able to get the frequent drops to turn into a drizzle. Finally a spark of life showed! He saw her swallow! Her eyes flew open and both her hands came up to press his arm to her mouth. She pulled long draughts of life liquid from him.

"Not too fast, Jung-in. Not so fast." Min tried to pull his hand away slightly but Yoo's hands held him tight. "Please, you will get enough, but I still need some to heal.

It was then Jung In's eyes focused on him. When she finally registered who cradled her head; who crooned softly to her; she stopped feeding altogether. "Min? What have you done? What have I done?"

"Tell me how you are feeling." Min ignored her questions completely, "Your cuts have mended. Is anything broken?" While he talked he felt her arms and collar bone.

Yoo tried to bat him away but she was still too weak. "My fingers hurt, and I can't move my legs. I have a massive headache. Why are you acting so strange?"

Min cleared away the last of the debris to find that Yoo's injuries were much worse than he thought. Her hips were canted at a scary angle and her legs had two breaks. He needed much more than a mound of rubble to make her whole, and he needed it now. "You have a concussion and your hand is crushed. Your hips are twisted. That can't be fixed here."

The room they were in was massive and it had few shadows, but in the distance he could see what was probably an office. Min knew he'd never make it to the office with his legs the way they were. Not if he picked up Jung-in and carried her to the room. He could no longer ignore the suffering in his own body.

"Jung-in?" He'd long ago thrown away formality and now he spoke to her as if she were much more than friends. "My legs are broken. I can't carry you to safety. I will be beside you, but can you drag yourself to that shadow over there?"

"Tae Yeon! Why didn't you tell me you were so badly hurt?" Jung In hitched herself up to be eye to eye with this infuriating, intriguing, strong, mysterious, honorable man. She knew if she pampered him in the least he would lose face. "I will do what you need me to do." She began dragging herself toward the darkest of the shadows.

By the time they both made it to the shadows, Min could see people begin to sift through the rubble. Thank goodness he had moved when he did. The best he could think of was to lay in the shadow cast by the office and hope no one chose to head this way. He needed to begin straightening her out or the damage would be permanent.

"Jung-in," He whispered to her, "I need to make sure your hips are straight again and that it hasn't cut your spine. I need to look at your broken bones too. It will hurt very much but you must not scream. You must remain as quiet as you can or the man who did this to us will come back." He held her face close to his, locking his eyes on hers. "Do you understand?"

"No sound." Yoo's voice had the breathlessness of extreme pain. "Pain but no sound." She had her eyes closed the whole time.

As carefully as he examined her in the first place he examined each break. The shin hadn't broken through the skin. This would be the easiest to fix. Right hand on one side of the break, left hand on the other, he eased the two bones into their rightful place. Yoo whimpered, but other than that, kept her promise. Next came the opposite thigh. If he had another helper, Min knew he could do this the right way; but he didn't have help.

Taking a breath and warning Yoo, Min grabbed the bare bone and pushed it back into the body. While a normal team would then use external pressure to get the bones to come together, Min kept hold of the bone and worked it back to its mate. He then looked to see if his intrusion could be fixed. He swore under his breath that he had no sterile catgut or nylon string to fix sinew and ligament. He was surprised Yoo Jung In had made no sound at all. Looking up he saw she had passed out.

Now that there was no worry over her making a sound he finished with her injuries quickly and started looking at his own. It was only then that he realized how much damage he had done to his own body by ignoring it for hers. While the skin had already begun to grow on his back, the breaks in his arms and legs had pushed through his skin. Worst by far was his crushed skull. Nothing had been done to it so the damage continued. Blood accumulated inside his cranium; pieces of bone worked their way into the flesh of his brain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

He needed help; _hospital _help. That wasn't going to happen. Close to passing out, Min frantically searched for someone who could give him that help. Perhaps it was time to let someone else have the reigns. Reaching into his pocket, he got out his phone. He almost cried when he found it broken. He pulled himself over to Yoo and searched her. When he located hers he found it worse for the wear, but still working. He put in the number for Hwang Soon Bum.

While there was nothing that Soon Bum could do, he would know where to go for help; and Min was too tired, too in pain, too drained of blood to think clearly. His heart leapt when his friend answered the phone.

"Do not speak! Are you near anyone?" Min was most worried that Soon Bum would burst out his name with happiness.

"Yes. Just a minute." Min could hear a distorted conversation then the sound of walking. "Min! You're ok? You survived?"

"I need your help. I can't move myself any further than I have. I need someone with medical experience. Not a hospital! No one can know I am alive. Can you do that for me?"

"I don't know." Hwang Soon Bum's answer was softer and he sounded worried. "Is it alright if I tell them what you are?"

"No!" Min panicked. "No one must know! Please Hwang." Min began to cry. He felt embarrassed by it but he was in shock and too weak to hold back the tears. "I need you! I can't do this! I don't want to die!"

"It's ok, boss!" You could tell in Soon Bum's voice that he was astonished by his friend's lack of control. "I think I know who, but you must trust me."

"You are my best friend; my only friend. I trust you." Min could hold himself together no more. He dropped the phone about the same time he lost consciousness.

"Wait!" The phone continued speaking, "Where are you? You didn't tell me where to find you!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

Soon Bum closed the case and put it back in his pocket. His choices were limited and the conundrum of finding his boss seemed impossible. He felt darn awful about lying to Min like that. He knew of no one who would work on vampires. Well, perhaps one. That problem wouldn't normally come up. Her reputation for keeping secrets was world renown, and best of all she was a doctor. Well, she was as good as a doctor. She was a researcher in the medical field.

He called her first. After all, if she were unreachable he'd have to come up with someone else. He thanked the ancestors and every god he could think of when she answered promptly. "Lee Jung Young! I need you most desperately!" He said before she could get out more than "Hello."

"You are always so excitable, Soon Bum. Take a breath and tell me how you are." Lee Jung Young's voice was low and musical.

"I am very fine, Auntie. And you?"

"I am good. Now you may tell me what has you so excited.

"Lee Jung Young, I have a friend who has been in an explosion. He refuses to go to the hospital or to any doctor. He will only go to someone who can keep a secret until two hours after they die."

"Hwang! Why didn't you tell me it was an emergency?" Lee said while frantically collecting her things. Soon Bum blushed with embarrassment. "I don't know where he is." Soon Bum said quickly, then "I'm on my way to get you." He hung up before she could say anything more.

When Hwang Soon Bum pulled onto the tarmac at Lee Jung Young's place, she was standing at the curb with a two wheel carry-all and her purse. Soon Bum got out to help her and as he took the handle of the carry-all Lee Jung Young wheeled around and hit Hwang with her purse. "You want me to go on a wild goose chase?"(bang the purse hit) "You think so little of my time?" (bam went the purse) "You make your auntie stand out here like a common bag lady? (Bam! Bang!)

"Auntie! Auntie!" Hwang pleaded while he covered his head with his arms and cringed away. "I know approximately where he is."

"Approximately?" Lee paused in her torture.

"I think he is hiding from the people who are searching the rubble." Soon Bum left it at that and stashed her cart in his car behind his seat, then pulled himself up behind the wheel. Piqued, Lee Jong Young got in beside him. As soon as she opened the door he started the car and by the time she had the door closed he'd already pulled into traffic.

"Why?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

"Why?"

"Why? Somehow Hwang had lost the thread of the conversation.

"Why is he better in the hands of a researcher than in the hospital? Why I this man alive after being in an explosion? Why did you lose him?"

Soon Bum let out a long sigh. "You must give your solemn promise not to tell a soul."

"You know I've my reputation on that!" Lee said huffily.

"And that's why I came to you. Still, I must ask this. It is most vital!" They turned a corner and he could hear the wheels squeal. "I have sworn my life on this, Auntie!"

"Then I, too, will swear my life. I know you, Soon Bum. Since you were pulling off your diapers and running around the neighborhood I have known you. When you are this sincere, it is worth my life to help you."

"Oh thank you Auntie! Thank you so much!" Hwang grabbed Lee's hand and kissed it several times. The car wove a bit.

"Tell me what you can before I meet him."

"He is my best friend. You must know this. You know that means something, right?"

Lee smiled, "Yes, I know."

"The center of the blast was no more than a meter from him. He didn't die because he is not human. Does that frighten you?" Soon Bum risked a glance at Jung Young.

"Should I be?"

"Some people are. Most of his kind are monsters that kill without heart. But he is different. He will hurt neither man nor woman." Hwang Soon Bum parked the car a fair distance away from the people climbing through the rubble. "He will give his life for his friends-and may have done just that."

"From the way he was talking, he couldn't have gone very far. The blast was on the second floor. When we got there, we were all standing around the elevator. He must be on the second floor.

"If he is as damaged as you say, his thinking wouldn't have taken him that far. The closest place is the office. See it there?" She pointed with her purse.

"Auntie! See there? A light…" Soon Bum jumped a time or two then ran.

Lee Jung Young gathered her purse and supply bag muttering, "Humph! I'm an old lady but does he think of me? No! He makes me get from the car with no help at all. I could sprain an ankle this car is so high! Young people do not learn respect for their elders!" By then she had climbed the stairs closest to the shadow and saw that two people lay crumpled and suffering.

Hwang knelt at the head of the man. At first she couldn't tell what he was doing, but as she got closer she could see he had his wrist up to the man's mouth and the man was drinking his blood. A chill ran through her. Vampire!

She turned to leave, but the words of Soon Bum ran through her head, …best friend… …trust him… …he is nothing like the monsters… …he will hurt neither man nor woman. It made her turn back in time to see something miraculous. The vampire pushed Hwang's arm away. Hwang resisted, but the vampire was insistent. He would drink no more blood. It was that action that decided her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"I am Auntie" Lee said as she knelt down beside the man—obviously worse for the wear. "And you are Nephew. This way only this one," Lee grabbed Hwang's cheek and gave it a good pinch, "will have a secret. A secret shared is not a secret." She gave Hwang a stern look so Soon Bum bobbed his head.

"Is Niece in any danger?"

"I don't think so. I looked after her." Min looked fondly at Yoo Jung In.

"Then I will look at you first." Lee was aghast at the number and severity of this man's wounds. _Why is he not dead?_ Then she would remember what he was. The most serious was the head, and this needed a hospital and a proper surgical staff. "Come on." She addressed her real nephew. "Help me get him to the car. They both need a hospital."

"No!" Both nephews said it simultaneously.

"I can't," the vampire addressed her, "Think of what will happen if I am found to be a vampire? Take me to my home if you want nothing to do with me. I will understand. No hospital!" The tirade took more from the man than he had to give. He mumbled, "No hospital." one more time, then lost consciousness.

"No hospital then." Lee looked somewhat confused. "We need to get them somewhere though. …and the first step is to get them to the ground floor."

"I can do that!" Hwang had a sudden spurt of inspiration. He felt relieved to finally be able to help. About 20 feet from the office, the building took a turn. It was there they had yet to build. Various boards and metal beams littered the site. Hwang was sure these builders were taking the bone discount. There were plenty of guys who would work for next to nothing, but a crane rental cost a bundle. If they did hire "bones" as they were called, the articles to send them to the ground were right here and quiet as an iris.

Before heading for the "lift", Soon Bum looked round the corner at the crew working for survivors. Only six were left and their attention was definitely not pointed at the office. He could feel the despair in the way they moved and how they stood. No doubt the number of pieces of human scattered in the debris would make it hard to identify how many people were there, let alone who they were.

Leaving Lee to take care of Min and Yoo, Hwang walked to the construction site and easily found two boards that would hold the injured friends weight. In no time the two vampires were ready to take a harrowing trip through two stories. Hwang wished he could take the trip down with each of them, but someone had to be holding the rope. The mechanical synch was argued out of the picture because of noise. Instead all they had was a metal girder and a strong man with a big heart. Lee went first to test the lines and the transport. Hoon Bum found it was much easier than he thought.

Hoon Bum knew he could get the two into his car and get away. He traced his finger along the line of the car. Whatever blind moment made him buy a big car with fold down seats… Well he was thankful for it now.

"Thank you, Nephew, for thinking of the boards. This will make everything so much easier."

Hwang had moved plenty of bodies and that was the same even of the dead. Any movement can destroy evidence, or in this case ability to move. Putting a man and woman in a car wasn't that much different from putting them in the back of an ambulance either.

"Someone has noticed us and is coming this way." Nephew said in a low voice filled with tension.

"We have a right to be here. We're picking something up. Ignore the person. Pull out onto the road and drive normally."

"You would make a tough criminal to catch!" Hwang said with a grin.

"I'll keep that in mind next time I pick up two dying people near an explosion." Lee laughed and pointed to a turn to make.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The directions took them deep into the poorer part of town. Soon there was no more room for two cars to pass each other. Men with blackened teeth smiled at the sign of wealth and waved their pipes at them. Children, naked from the waist up were playing in the street and tended to ignore the car. The end of day was coming quickly in these hovels so close together. The light of the sun had already passed. All that was left were dark shadows and darker things moving within them.

Yoo made a whimper and Lee turned in her seat to comfort the woman.

"How much further, Auntie?" Hwang asked her. "This is not a good part of town. How do you expect me to leave my friends here?" They had just come upon a terrace. Around it a grocery store, a manufacturing plant., and a veterinarian's office were planted. Hwang could see more large buildings beyond them. It looked like this was some sort of boarder between workers and where they worked.

"This makes no sense!" Hwang angrily stopped the car hard. "What? Do you want to treat them like dogs?" He slid out of his seat and went to yank open Lee's side.

"Hwang Soon Bum you will respect your elders! You came to me and asked for help. Do you think so little of me that you would treat me this way? _You_ asked _me!_ I will do this with you tied up in the car if I need to! You will say nothing more until I ask you. Is that clear?"

Hwang's eyes had been getting bigger and bigger as Lee's tirade went on. Once she finished, he bent low enough to kiss his knees and said nothing at all.

Soon Bum stayed where he was; rising only after Lee left for the vet's office. He could barely see her open the vet door. He was astounded to find she did it with a key! It nearly killed him, but he didn't ask how she had a key to a vet's door in the middle of poor town. They worked in silence while they got the two people in the vets and set up on exam tables.

Lee's first look at Min startled her. The blood and bone on his head had arranged itself so that he looked more or less normal on that side. She knew that wasn't true. She had seen bone chips sliding into the brain casing. The bones in his arms and legs were almost healed, but their shape was wrong. She'd have to break and reset them. The bubbly breathing bothered her the most. A bone must have gone through a lung. It was serious. Much more than a PHD could fix.

"I cannot help this one." Her eyes were downcast and her face old with defeat. "Speak to me, Nephew. Tell me what to do."

It wasn't an apology, but by all rights he deserved her wrath. "Do what you know how for Niece, and do what you can for Nephew. I will do what I can to help you, Auntie." Again he bowed deeply. Some of her youth came back.

"We should see what Niece needs." All the work that Min had done earlier with Yoo Jung-in at the mound of rubble had done wonders for Yoo. All her bones were straight and the wounds they caused were gone. At some time while the two others had been working on Nephew, she woke up and listened to the conversation. "You must save him." She said it quietly and calmly as if it were obvious. "We must save him. He kept me alive."

She began to sit up and Auntie nearly passed out from the unexpected movement. "You must not move!" Lee hissed.

Yoo smiled and eased off the bed. "I am perfectly fine, Auntie." She moved around to look at Min. Her heart quailed at the sight. "This man gave me everything I needed to make me well. I can at least help him." Yoo placed her hands on either side of one of the breaks. As soon as Hwang understood what she was doing he batted her hands away.

"Think, Niece, he is low on blood and you have none to give. We must find another…" Hwang snapped his fingers and a broad grin split his face in two. "Wait! I know! Nephew keeps blood in his apartment. It looks like he must take it from some blood bank. If I could get that…" Hwang was out the door before anyone could answer.

Min still hadn't returned to consciousness from the ride in the car. His skin was becoming more and more sallow. The healing of the skull had no doubt left behind a hematoma. Lee looked through the vet's stock of medicines for anything that would help. She came up empty in the medicine department. She knew the hematoma was much scarier. It was an easy killer.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **

What they needed was an x-ray. Locating the spot where the hematoma lay was half of the issue. The x-ray would also point out the bone chips. "Niece, I will need many things on a tray next to me. Look for a clean sheet, suction hose, scalpel, bone saw, … the list went on.

Min woke up one more time before everything began. "I am still unwell." He said in a voice that no longer sounded like him.

Lee touched him on the cheek and felt a fever. She suspected vampires didn't get fevers very often—if ever. Min would die if Niece and Nephew didn't come soon. "When you first came awake after the explosion, what did you think?"

"I was concerned that Niece was in distress. The blast would have been fatal for her had I not covered her with my body. She wasn't awake, but I could see her breathing. I went in search of blood."

"Ah! Like I would expect. You went looking for yourself first."

"I am a vampire. With enough blood in me I can heal. We both would have died if I had tried to help her in my current condition."

"Now she's a vampire too."

"I regret that."

"I don't." Yoo had been listening at the door for some time.

Min frowned.

"Oh I was appalled when I first found out! I'll give you that! I had all the myths and ghoul stories running through my head, but as you moved me to even ground and set my wounds; as I remembered you in the office with your calm, strong look, I knew that vampires didn't need to be what I had envisioned. I hold you in the highest regard, Tae Yeon."

Min smiled. "Nephew." was all he said.

Lee had gone to the other room herself and was looking over the x-ray machine. She had no good feeling about the workings of this antique. But what could she do? This was what she had. At least it was large enough to take a picture of his skull but the graininess and lack of clarity might be an issue.

It was just at that point that Lee heard Nephew start to convulse. He nearly fell off the table before Niece and she could hold him down. "Niece! You must hold him!" Auntie said, running into the room. "Can you do that?"

"I am a vampire now. I am much stronger than before. He just took me by surprise."

Lee mentally chastised herself. Of course the girl could help much more now! First things first. She remembered seeing anti seizure medicine in the medications she had found. It was for a dog. That was close enough. Heaven forbid she would have the bad luck to only find one for a horse! "Hold him." Rushing to the medications she found the bottle. It was past pull date by about a week but she didn't care. Things were going so fast. This never happened in pure research! She grabbed a sterile needle and estimated an amount. Holding her breath she shot the needle into Nephew. Lee didn't know if the anti-convulsion drug worked or the shaking had run its course. The convulsions had made him pass out once more. Lee had no idea what caused the convulsions or if they might have caused damage. More and more she felt defeated. How could she possibly keep this man... this vampire alive.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 **

As if by magic, Hwang walked into the room carrying a cooler. "He didn't have much, so I brought all he had. I hope it's enough."

Again Lee thanked the stars for the fortune they were having.

"Niece on head, Nephew on foot. We're taking him into the x-ray room and on the pallet. Lee knew nothing about taking x-rays. The console was unfathomable. "Look for a manual, children." Without some instruction these controls may as well have been written in English. They found the manual covered in dust and cobwebs fallen down the side of one of the machines. Lee laughed when she found the beginning of the instructions were in English. When they found the Korean part they realized that most of the complexity of the machine was positioning and depth of field and such things as that.

Lee turned the machine on. Soon Bum let out a cry and peeled for the door. Yoo Jung In started laughing. "It is one little x-ray. You get that much every time you get one too." Soon Bum still closed the door most of the way with just his eyes peaking through.

"Now comes the hard part, children" Lee sighed. "Look at the x-ray. There on the left of his brain it looks like probably a subdural hematoma. No doubt it's acute. Now look at these disks. Those are the bone chips that worked their way into his brain. They've grown exponentially since they went in. By the time I prep him and open his skull to get to them, Min will be dead for real."

Hwong immediately lost it. "No! That's not going to happen. Min is a friend of mine! The best one I have. I've known what he was longer than anybody and I haven't told anyone. We're a team. It's not possible. You check your pictures again. He's a _vampire_ they can survive anything!"

Yoo started to cry. "It can't happen like this! He has been so remote all the time I knew him but I know he feels more. Just when I can see him on an equal level; just when I've learned the secret that has left him silent all these years. He can't die. He has no right to die! Your x-ray is wrong!"

Since Niece and Nephew were speaking at the same time, Lee knew nothing of what they were saying. Instead she was thinking hard of a way to pull Min out of this hell. From everything these two said about this man, he didn't deserve this.

The inspiration came from a memory. She was kneeling next to Min, and Niece was preparing to reset his bones. She had worried he wouldn't be able to heal himself if he didn't have enough blood. Whether it was right or wrong, it sounded right and it was something she could do!

"Niece!"

The girl was still in her own private horror and didn't hear.

Lee picked up her purse and batted the girl with it, just like she did with Hwong. "Niece! What good are you standing there weeping 'Poor me! Look how this hurts _me_." She batted the girl again. "If all you can do is think of yourself you are worse than no help! You take up room. Go sit in the car while we help Min!"

The room got very quiet. Hwang's eyes twinkled. Finally Yoo said in a small voice, "What can I do?"

"You are the vampire here. We need his body drained as much as you can. By taking him near death we may save his life."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

Yoo's eyes widened in comprehension. "Yes." She drawled, "Yes Auntie. I think this will work!" With more hope in her face than she'd had all day, Yoo immediately took up his arm to bite it.

"No, Niece." Lee was calm now. "We need this done fast. Choose the carotid artery."

With no argument, Yoo went to the neck and bit down. The blood came coursing into her mouth. She choked at first. She expected something only a little faster than when she had drunk his blood but the carotid was large and the blood intake massive. In time she got the hang of it. Pulling in the ambrosia was giving her a high like she had never experienced. She knew people were working around her but the elixir she drank took all that away. She could feel herself becoming stronger, more confident, powerful. Suddenly hands were pulling her away. She fought them at first. They had no right to stop this river of life, this lightning, this gift.

Slowly reality seeped back into her mind. Min groaned softly; Hwang had hold of her shoulders and was pulling with all his might; even the Doctor tried to pull her fingers away from his neck. She released her hold and everyone pulled back with a sigh.

"Get the instrument table set up." Lee delegated to Niece; "You, Nephew, place something hard and about three inches tall under his head. Then cover it with something sterile." She pointed to Niece, "You will be my main nurse and hand me the tools. Hwang will vacuum up the excess liquids." Looking Hwang directly in the eye she asked, "Do you think you can do that?"

"We both work with blood every day, Auntie. You will find no problem here."

"Then we begin." Despite the fact that Nephew was unconscious, drained of blood, and unlikely to wake soon, Lee gave him a soporific to keep him under. The operation started fairly well. Lifting the skin away, pulling away the skull, even removing the hematoma went smooth and fast. What lay under the hematoma made all three suck in air. The disks of cranium had been feeding on the hematoma for their blood supply. They had begun to curve in a pattern of a skull, some connecting with others. It reminded Yoo of parts of a beehive. Min, the love of her life, was dead; even were he to heal the spots where the skull had cut in, it wouldn't be the same—he wouldn't be the same.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"No." Hwang's voice held determination, conviction. "He is not dead until I say he is dead. I say he is not yet dead." The words, coming from the office clown, the burly fighter, were nothing like him. These were the words of someone with knowledge of the tenacity of his friend. They came from experience, not just faith. "Continue."

With temerity making her hands gentle, she began to remove the bone that was uncomplicated. As each piece clattered into the metal bowl they all sighed in unison. Eventually all that was there were the complex pieces. "Niece, you have more strength than either of us. Can you reach down as close to the brain matter as you can, take hold of two of the tight angles and snap them apart?"

Yoo's eyes got big. "You want me to… No! I could never…"

"You are our best choice."

At first her finger trembled but as she laid them against the brain and gripped the bone her nervousness went away. _He is dead or he isn't. If he isn't, not doing this will kill him._ She snapped the bone. Both sides of the angle came out clean. As they worked through the rest of them some were good and some were not. Those that went awry they tried again. When all was done, the bones were out but the damage was severe. He would likely be brain dead.

The operation had taken all night. Day was spreading through the plaza and the vet would soon be there. Quickly they skittered here and there cleaning up the mess they had made. They moved Min's body back to the van and were finishing up the last little bit when the veterinarian came in.

"Pardon our presence, friend." Lee bowed low.

"Lee? What brings you here so early."

"A friend of mine was cut and needed stitches but he would not go to hospital. We finally got him to agree to come here. He's in the car now. We must go in a hurry I do regret."

"Och!" The vet waved Lee away with her hand, "You and your dates! One of these days I'm going to charge you!" Then she laughed and waved them out the door.

"What will we do with him now?" Hwang started the motor and began driving in a random direction.

"You will take him to my house." Yoo said indignantly. "We'll put him in bed, hook up a blood line to his stomach and I will take care of him."

"Until when?" Hwang said gruffly.

"Until forever if I have to." Yoo was in no shape to make this decision right now Lee knew but it couldn't hurt to have her try it for a while and see how she feels.

"If you change your mind, Niece, call me." She handed Yoo a piece of paper that must have come from the vet's office. It read, "Auntie" and a phone number.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 **

At first the days went by so slowly for the team. Yoo's presence being at work was explained away as having never been in the explosion. Min was given a eulogy and a new prosecutor was named in his place. It was no one they knew and the struggle to come together as a team didn't look promising.

Every day, Yoo checked Min's teeth to see if he was hungry. If the teeth showed, she would feed him. Gradually she came to know the times of his feeding and even that became a routine without thought. She worried about all the things that go wrong with humans, like bedsores or bodily functions but they never happened so she forgot about them.

Her life had changed considerably. Although her compatriot, Hwang, knew of her situation, she was cut off from regular society. How could she go on a date when it required eating or drinking? Going to the movies by herself provided no fun. All of the usual activities were with people and usually contained some form of eating or drinking.

Her friends began to leave her as she made one excuse after another. Eventually only Hwang came around.

There was one thing she did that she looked forward to each day. When she was done with work and she had changed out of the constricting workday attire and put on something soft and snuggly, she would go in to Min. She would sit on the bed or lie down next to him or just sit on a chair and she would talk.

She would tell him how the day had gone or what the lilies looked like out the window or who was killing whom in the larger world. Sometimes she'd read books to him or sing songs. Once she even showed him a dance she had had to learn when she was 10.

She would talk until she was tired, then kiss him goodnight on the forehead and go to her bed on the sofa.

Somewhere around five months after the explosion Hwang visited on a Saturday afternoon. Yoo having decided Saturday would be a good day to change the sheets on Min's bed, was startled when Hwang showed up unannounced.

"I thought you were going out with the boys to play bocce ball or basketball or some other manly sport."

Hwang could tell she was kidding and gave her a big smile. "No, I came to talk to you about Min."

"No. Now let's not get into this argument again! We've gone over and over the good and bad points. I'm…"

Hwang talked over the top of her. "You have gone over and over the good and bad points. I've just sat here and listened. Can't you see you are wasting your life away?"

Yoo laughed, though it had a bitter ring to it. "I'll live forever. How can I waste it away?"

"Then think about him." Hwang's voice was getting louder, "Do you really think that Min would want you to live like this? Can you really see his appreciation for you changing his underwear and bathing him?"

"It's not his place to say anymore!" Yoo was on her feet, hands gripped to her side.

"But it_ is_ my place." Min stood in the doorway between the two rooms, obviously having trouble staying upright.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 **

Hwang and Yoo flew to him immediately, each taking a side and tucking him in the chair that would keep him most upright and comfortable. He seemed exhausted after just that small amount of effort but he spoke immediately.

"My condition is greatly improved. I am able enough to take care of myself. If one of you would take me to my house?"

Hwang burst out laughing. "You should see yourself! I mean it, Tae Yeon!" He emphasized it when Min gave Hwang one of his sideways glances. "Wait!" the tough policeman scowled, "How long have you been awake?

As the two of them continued to reacquainting themselves, Yoo went to the kitchen for drinks. She had begun keeping human drinks around for Hwang when he showed up, but mostly the refrigerator contained blood.

"It wasn't immediate. Three months ago I knew I was alive but I began hearing only two months ago. I appreciated your voice, Jung-in." There was more, but he chose not to tell her what the sound of her voice did. At first it was just a sound, pure melody but as the days progressed and he began to understand what she was saying, a melancholy took over. As he listened to the words, he realized she wasn't talking to him. He was just a doll, hanging on her wall; something decorative. All reality as a living being had been leeched out of him in her eyes.

Yoo thought over all the frivolous things she'd said over the last few months and she flushed in embarrassment. She had begun using him as a journal. Life had been full of stress recently. With that ogre of a boss watching from her glass office waiting for the team to make a mistake so she could exploit it, the rest of them had finally, regretfully shuffled into a team. That defeat had taken much out of her and she transferred it to her journal, Min.

"Movement and sight! When did you learn them again?" Hwang asked, excitement in his voice. "Oh! And talking!"

Yoo didn't think she wanted to hear about that, but the tray was ready. With a grin and a wink she gave Hwang tomato juice. The idea tickled him and his laugh gave it away.

While they talked, Yoo began to feel a peace settle over her. She tucked her feet up on the sofa and settled in. She felt better now. For the first time in a long time she felt comfortable in her home. As Hwang and Min continued to talk she watched Tae-yeon. She almost laughed when it occurred to her that he was bare chested and had on only sleepers on the bottom. He didn't even have socks. He seemed the same as before: the economy of movement, the minimal smile, the eternal watchfulness so …Min… that not even she had noticed something that blatant.

Yoo wondered, so she looked for other differences. He cocked his head when listening. "I wasn't here for the part of the conversation when you said you could see. How long has it been?"

Min gave his typical quiet smile. "I could see at the same time I could hear.

"But you never opened your eyes!"

"It was to spare you." More to spare him, he thought. Opening his eyes with her in the room would let him see the vampire wonder. She had fed him on low rations that he was sure was not her intent, but it made the smell of her blood—even vampire—smell wondrous. "It would have seemed strange to see a man who could not move or talk or even take sustenance but he could open and close his eyes.

"Wait!" Hwang interrupted, "You couldn't move your eyes?"

Min smiled, "I still have problems some times. No, back then I could only open and close my eyes."

"Min, would you like more?" Yoo held out her hand for the glass.

Min nodded and gave it over. As he let his gaze slowly move down her body, his vampire come out just then. The previous glass of blood had dulled his thirst but when she neared him his feelings changed. His lust for her blood had turned into lust for her.

Suddenly he realized Hwang Bum had gone quiet.

He turned and smiled at his friend. "As I said, I still have problems moving my eyes."

Hwang had such a reaction to that he fell off his chair.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 **

Because she was a vampire or maybe because she was looking for signs, Yoo noticed his teeth descend and his eyes flash blue. No one else would have seen it. Again there was the familiar economy of movement. It was a conflicting feeling, Yoo thought. Just how well was Min? She had been a Vampire for five months and had experienced the speed at which they heeled. She had seen a miracle of mystic properties when a finger she lost while cutting, healed overnight. Still, walking and talking didn't make him well.

When Yoo came back with the drinks, the two were talking about the new prosecutor. "But he isn't half the prosecutor you are!" Hwang wove his head back and forth with his eyes tight shut. His case solve rate is half yours, and who gets the fallout? Eh? Us! That's who!"

"Do you feel the same way?" Min asked Yoo as he picked up his glass. His eyes were looking at hers. It was the first time she could remember him initiate eye contact. It felt odd.

Yoo bowed her head and thought about the question. "Your former boss, Min, was trying to take you out. She has a softer heart for this new one. When the case goes wrong, she will blame one of us before blaming our new boss."

Min took a long draught of blood, paused, and took another. "I have spent too much time awake. It would be good for me to go to bed." He glanced at Yoo. "I would be happy to take the sofa so that you might rest well in your own bed."

"It has been my bed for 5 months. You must take the bedroom." She quickly came round to give him a hand and to her surprise, he took it. Before she realized it he had waved away Hwang's help and with Min leaning lightly on Yoo, they were heading to the bedroom. It was abrupt, and Yoo thought it was clearly bad manners.

"Why did you treat him like that?" They had reached the bed and she unceremoniously dumped him on the bed and walked around to close the drapes.

"Like what? How did I treat him?"

"Hwang clearly wanted help from you about how to handle his boss but you chose then to tell us you need to sleep. Then he offers to help you to the bedroom and you wave him away, taking me instead."

"I am very tired."

"You must be to refuse to help your best friend, Min Tae Yeon!" Yoo watched as Min swung his legs in under the covers.

Min paused before pulling the covers up, "Hwang is my best friend?"

Yoo was shocked! Min had treated Hwang with such camaraderie she had assumed he knew.

"And you? What is my relationship with you?" Min drew one leg up so he could lay his hand on it.

"Wuh…" Yoo drew back a bit, startled.

"I have lived in your home. You have fed and bathed me for the past 5 months. I assume that this is not a casual relationship. Yet you sleep in the living room, not in the bed with me. It is not an intimate relationship." Min raised an eyebrow. "What are you to me, Yoo Jung In?"

"I…" Yoo had no idea how to answer that.

"I think I can answer, if you aren't too afraid."

It seemed a strange thing for Min to say but perhaps it was a way for her to get the tangled feelings turned around. She sat down on the bed next to him.

Min took one of Yoo's hands and held it lightly. "I remember all the things you said for these few months. Would that make me the best expert on all things Jung In? Min's smile was wide and friendly.

"Perhaps more than me. I truly apologize for all the drivel you must have put up with."

Min dropped his head and smiled. "The singing was the best. I couldn't see the dance. I would have liked to."

Yoo sent a quizzical smile Min's way and cocked her head to one side, "You have changed so much!"

Just then there was a light tapping on the door. Before either of them could respond, Hwang came bowing into the room, hands clapped tight against his eyes and a big grin on his face. "I beg to interrupt anything happy between you but I must go. I have had a good evening! You have a good evening too." That last was dripping with innuendo and he was backing out the door as he said it.

Yoo jumped up and chased after him, "Soon Bum you miserable excuse for a friend! It wasn't what it looked like!" Then she was laughing and Hwang was laughing and even Min chuckled.


	15. Chapter 15

**At first I thought to finish this at the end of ch. 14 but finally my writer got the best of me. It would have been a weak end at best. So here we go! More chapters!**

**Chapter 15**

When Yoo came back into the bedroom, Min had gotten up and stood by the bed.

"You wanted to know how you feel?" His hand stretched out toward hers

She took it automatically and found herself being drawn slowly into him. When she finally stood in front of him. They were close enough that if she were to take a big breath she would touch his chest. She looked at his eyes. They were brown. Deepening her gaze she could tell nothing. His emotions were hooded. Well, he did say she would know how she felt.

Biting her lip, she put her hands on his hips. He did the same, but pulled her in until her stomach pressed against his. She gave a little gasp. It was obvious where he wanted to go, but she had only thought of him like this in her dreams. As his subordinate she could have no hope of interacting like this with him. Yet now they were both vampires. That made them of the same cast to a certain extent. She was none too sure that applied.

"What next?" Yoo asked Min. She was trembling with fear, but fear of what she wasn't sure.

"Your choice."

Time moved past on crutches until finally she decided. She backed away. The feeling was like tearing a piece of flesh out of her heart, but her head told her no good could come from a liaison between two vampires.

Min lowered his head. He had hoped… Even the nightly outpouring to her Min-doll hadn't really kept him from believing he could change her mind. Perhaps the hole in his head held the reason that kept her easing away. "Then good night, Yoo Jung-in." He said it with all formality.

"Good Night, Min Tae-yeon"

Morning came with Jung-in quickly fixing a "breakfast" by warming the blood to fresh body level. When Tae-yeon came out he was surprised. In the eight years he'd been a vampire not once had the thought of warming the blood to body temperature. The difference was phenomenal.

"Will you have enough to do here today?" Min knew she wasn't asking that; she hoped Tae-yeon got her actual meaning.

Min chuckled, "I know my limits. Today I will exercise to get my strength back." Once she left, he wandered the house until he found her martial arts room. He'd known there would be one. He knew her well. Warming up with Cobudo Aikido he had hoped to work in a series of taekkyeon and taekwondo but no matter how much he wished to improve swiftly, time wouldn't cooperate. He cooled down with a couple laps around the studio. As he did his workout he let his mind wander. It was a technique he used when he could move nothing but his eyes.

The incident the night before had startled him. He really had thought she would come to him. The transformation of her journal, her Min doll into flesh and blood should have had her giddy. He'd underestimated her. While he'd been thinking over the past five months, she had too. The Journal/Doll had won the day. He hoped he could defeat it.

Perhaps the problem lay in the hole in his skull. The brain had mended itself even though it had looked like ground meat. All the synapses seemed to be doing their job, but still he couldn't remember that section of time. He couldn't even tell just exactly when it was.

A girl kept slipping through his mind. She was about seven and she was the apple of his eye. He couldn't remember her name or even why she meant so much to him. He didn't recall how he became a vampire, but he knew it was ten years ago. The worst one: he remembered standing in a field of dead bodies and he knew he was the cause. He was having trouble reconciling the picture of that field and the attitude of his friends that he was an upstanding prosecutor who was always fair.

It was about 1PM and the refrigerator was calling to him. Just as he was getting out the blood, an idea came to mind. He'd draw the pretty little girl and show it around. Maybe somebody would know who she was. While pouring the blood, he gazed around the flat for a likely spot for pencil and paper. He located them next to her computer. The idea was an exciting one for him. He put away the blood and took his glass, paper and pencil to the table to draw. As he was sitting down, he took a big drink of the blood.

Something was wrong! Min had swallowed the blood without thinking; before tasting. All the muscles in his body contracted and stayed that way. His blue vampire eyes came out as well as his teeth. He could feel his mind changing, devolving, becoming like the first vampire. In despair Min opened his veins in both his arms. The old one was pushing on his sanity. With the pen and paper he wrote, "blood old 1" That was it. He was no longer an intelligent man with priorities and sensibilities. Now he was a feral vampire, willing to do anything to drink blood.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 **

The cuts had been deep and long on purpose. Tae-yeon hoped that the cuts wouldn't heal before sufficient blood weakened him to stay in this room or at least this flat. Jung-in had become used to locking the flat to keep her secret. This habit may save lives, Min thought.

_The vampire could smell the blood. There was so much of it! Many must have died for this treasure! If he could find it his arms would heal. Why would he do this to himself? It made no sense. Perhaps it was a test? No. He had no reason to test himself._

The old vampire tried to get up to go to the blood but found he had no control over his body. The young upstart still controlled most of it! "_Give me back control of my limbs! You have no right to keep them from me!"_

"You misunderstand the situation, Old One. The body is mine. Only the blood is yours."

_"Blood is life. Without it this body will shrivel."_

_"_I may shrivel, but I will not die. Blood is only animation, it is not life."

_The vampire master became furious with this thought. "I will show you animation!"_

With that the old one took full control of the body, shoving the essence of Min into the dark hole within his mind. Instantly Min found himself standing, watching the little girl of his dreams as she danced after a butterfly. He laughed and called out, "Sister, you must stay within my sight! The girl turned, laughed and came running back to him. Putting her arms tight around his waist she said, "My wonderful Tae-yeon, I will follow you to the moon and sun and all the stars!"

"Whoof!" Min Tae-yeon exclaimed, "That's too far a journey for me. Follow me back to the picnic table and we can eat! OK?"

"OK!" The girl responded.

Min struggled to get past the memories. For all the time he'd wished to know what lay in the blackness of his mind, now was not the time to examine it. He turned his mind outward.

What the Old One was doing was nuzzling against the neck of Bae Jong-in, his elderly neighbor, drinking from the carotid artery. Min struggled to break free, but the old one was too strong and the blood he was drinking wouldn't help.

_"So! You peek out of your safe place to see what a warrior can do?"_

"You're no warrior. You are just a vampire suckling at an old woman's throat."

_"Are you bitter that you cannot drink? You said I was just the blood. Well let me give of my largess!" The old one gathered some of the blood from the woman's throat and drizzled it down Min's legs. "Did that help? Hmm? Are you stronger now?" The driveling little squirt that hid in his brain said nothing. The old one smiled and opened the inner elbow. Back in his time it was considered the "proper" way of drinking._

Min knew in his heart that he couldn't out-vampire this old one. He had spent the last ten years doing as little as possible as a vampire. Perhaps, he thought with an inner smile, perhaps he could out prosecutor him. He had very little time. The neighbors were used to calling emergency here. The cops would already be on their way. He had ten minutes if he was lucky. He needed to be very, very lucky.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

He gave the Old One no warning. Min jumped to his knees, fully in control; but it was a startle move at best. He had lots to get done. Running to the door, he left, closing it behind him. He looked down the corridor. Empty. So far, so good. Gathering himself, he bashed in Bae Jong-in's door.

Min staggered as the Old One tried—and failed—to exert control of his legs. "Not yet, Old man."

Pulling up power from the blood would give the vampire more power, Min surmised, so he used what power a man would have. Going to the kitchen he quickly found a knife. Back to his neighbor he wiped some blood across her mouth, then cut her in the same way he had cut himself, but with the knife. Fortunately, some time had gone by and the wounds were mending. He opened his a bit more to make it look exact.

Now he must wait. He could hear the police heading up the steps. It was time. First the phone call to Jung-in. He gave a weak, breathy, "Help" then He grabbed the knife and slit his throat deep. He left the line open, then slid it toward the bedroom. Then using his hands he tried to make it messy. He threw the knife after the phone as the blackness took over.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 **

**Forgive me for the short chapter last week, but my characters do what they will no matter how loud I shout.**

"Out the window!" Min said in a voice filled with foam. "He went…" Min had used his energy and spilled blood copiously. Hopefully the two would cancel out and the Ancient Warrior would be gone. He needed to find out how such a thing got into his refrigerator. That was his last coherent thought for quite some time.

"One unit of O-neg stat!" Min heard it from 60 feet away and wondered if that was really his blood type. He felt like giggling. He refrained himself.

"Start an IV drip." Min was hiding under the bed. He wondered if the poor sap on the bed was a vampire. They didn't take liquids except blood. Tae-yeon hoped they figured it out.

"Stop! Please, no IV drip. He's allergic to the solution." Min liked that voice it was full of music. He wouldn't mind listening to that music again. He wandered over to where the music voice was. He looked at her for some time. Something told him he recognized her but he hadn't been listening hard enough. Pretty face though.

"I'm sorry, miss, you'll have to leave this area."

"But I'm trying to tell you, you're killing him!" Yoo was frantic.

"And what is your relationship with the patient?"

It came out without her even thinking, "I'm his wife! Now please, remove the IV Drip!"

"We'll do as you say until we can verify your statement; but you understand we must leave at least the platelets."

Something in how she said it or maybe the melody of her voice made Min want to do as she said. He tried to move his hand to remove the iv himself, but couldn't find his hand. This worried him. He came up close to the body on the slab. Ouch! One messed up dude!

_"See what you do when you throw me away?"_

"The Old One?" Somehow Min hadn't expected to see him here.

_"As you say."_

"And who's he?" Min motioned toward the guy dying on the bed.

The Old One laughed long and hard although Min couldn't find any humor in it.

_"Well I wasn't in the best of shape myself but lets see what I can do."_

Choppy visuals began showing in his mind like a video from the 1920s. He tried to pay attention but with so much missing it was hard to follow.

The man on the table was standing confident in a room that Min vaguely remembered. He looked vibrant and commanding. He had just downed a full bottle of wine. The vision skipped.

… He was striding to a door that looked partly open. Beyond was a woman, elderly, peeking out. He laughed again. He sounded so confident! Min thought.

_… "What say we start a serial killer? Sound…"_

… Now the man looked feverish. He had bashed the wine bottle and was in the process of cutting gash marks like his own in her flesh. His own! He was the man on the slab! With all this grizzly, macabre scene playing in front of him (no sound, of course) he had no time to think before … He had a knife to his throat and with no hesitation he drew a line long and deep.

_"I thought that last bit was a doozy. Having more blood did the trick. Gave me a new lease on life. That was one of the all time great comebacks. I take more blood; you take it away. You do know you're only hurting yourself, right?"_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"So I'm on the table." Min mumbled.

_"And so am I!" The Old One rejoiced._

"Wait. I remember something. You are the blood. I am the flesh?" Min realized he was saying this out loud and hoped it sounded like part of the major trauma he'd just received.

_"Whew! You may be a clothes horse and teen heart throb but you're as dumb as a stone!"_

"I'm not wrong. I know I'm not wrong."

_"No, you're not wrong."_ The Old One said it as if to a child. "_You seem to miss the severity of the situation, Min the Moron._

_"We are in the intensive ward of a hospital that doesn't believe in vampires. You have bled out almost all of your blood in order to get rid of me and mutilated yourself in the process. Now tell me what that means, Minimal." _If the Old One had a face he could use, he would be giving Tae-yeon a frown to cringe by.

"We're dead on four points."

_"Four?" the Old One mumbled, what's the fourth?_

Min Tae-yeon hated the Old One tramping around in his mind. It took his focus away from anything else and he was pretty sure he needed his wits about him.

The nurse was coming back, looking mighty determined. She had a saline solution in her hand and she meant to use it!

Min had no idea if this would work, but without it "the fit hits the shan" so said the American proverb. Assuming he had an ethereal body (although he really didn't feel one) he "sat" down on the table and eased himself into a laying position. He could feel his body and where he was off a bit. With a squirm here and an arm movement there he felt himself "click" into place.

The out of body experience had done him good. This was what Yoo Jung-in had kept in her bed for 5 months. She'd cared for him as if he'd been awake even when that prognosis was in doubt. Jung-in had done things to him that he was not sure he would have done for himself. He was deeply embarrassed.

The nurse was done fiddling with the saline bag and was just about to set up the feed.

"No." His voice was so soft and so scratchy Min wasn't sure he could be heard so he cleared his throat (an entire new level of pain) and said it louder. "No!"

_"You sound like a baby!" The vampire's voice was again in his head. _Min groaned_. It had come out verbally and the nurse went away to get a painkiller. "Let's hope someone else doesn't come in and try the same thing."_

Min Tae-yeon allowed himself a small smile. "Are you saying you are afraid of someone else taking action?"

_"Mini, you don't ignore a danger! Where were you taught? Even the youngest of my tribe are taught basic survival skills!"_

"Different place, different survival skills." He couldn't keep awake much longer. He had to have that figurative sword of Damocles out of the way before he slept. The nurse who had tried to sneak the saline solution in, hurried from the room, letting the line drip on the floor. In no time at all the doctor who was treating him came in.

"We're glad to see you awake, Min. In fact I'd say it's just short of a miracle."

"No saline!" Min pushed it through his throat one time more.

"Yes, your wife told us and we're adding it to our charts. She also said you have a condition that has been handled for some time by a medical researcher here in this hospital?"

"And there's the fourth thing to worry about." Min then spoke within his mind. "Where is my team? I can't get out of here without my team."

_"Ah! Now I see your strategy. In your world it isn't necessary to war against the food supply. They even keep you hale and hearty!"_

Min refused to answer.

"I believe Jung-in has your co-worker hunting her down. Your wife is anxious to see you. Would you like a few minutes alone?"

Min smiled and blinked his eyes. It was too painful to nod.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Jung-in came in and Tae-yeon felt the knot at the base of his neck relax. He hadn't known how much he wanted to see her. There had been less than a day since last they spoke and in that time, so many things had changed. "Wife?"

"You would have said it too!" Jung-in whimpered.

Min gave her a cocked eyebrow and it flustered her until she was beet red. He enjoyed doing that. It made all well with the world… until he tried to move. He sucked air through his teeth and immediately she was by his side.

"This one will be harder." he let his hand slide smoothly up her forearm.

"Wha… What do you mean?" Jung-in looked like a deer in the headlights but her elbow stayed locked where it was.

Min was realizing the effect too. _"This is not the time."_ With a bit of chagrin, Tae-yeon pulled his hand away. The look of her disappointment left him feeling like a cad so he turned his head away as well. "My extreme loss of blood has made my healing slower but it won't last long. Soon I'll be showing my "gift".

_"Take the bag, drink it down! We can feast on someone in the dark outside of here."_

Silently Min replied, "I can drink the bag, yes, but there will be no more killing. If you stay you must follow that rule."

"Tae-yeon," Yoo had managed to get her "this is professional" face back on. "Will the blood that remains in the bag be enough for you to leave here?"

Min thought about it. The blood was normal. It wouldn't help the Old One in any way, but he might have better control over where the blood was best used. There were other advantages to having the Oldest Vampire and his wisdom inside his head. "Old One, I wish to make a pact with you."

_"Oh Minuet, are you meeting my demands?"_

"No, Old Bandit, I am offering you a way to live forever!"

It was then that Yoo laid her head close to his and whispered in his ear, "Look smart! I don't know where you go when you do that, but you look comatose. At least smile. We're husband and wife, remember?"

At that, Min opened his eyes and smiled. "Of course I will remember, Jung-in. Always." As he watched the pink flush up into her cheeks, Tae-yeon's smile faded. Her shoulders had straightened and she had taken her hand away as well. It wasn't what he was aiming for at all.

"I'm afraid you'll need to go to the waiting room. We need to prep him for surgery." The surgeon was as efficient and pig headed as the nurse.

"I've given no permission for surgery!" Yoo boomed.

"Please, Ms. Min, You've taken away the ability for us to hydrate him before surgery. We need to get to him now or he _will_ die."

"We wait for Auntie to come." Yoo said and sat down in one of the two chairs in the room.

"Yes. She said it!" Soon Bum agreed and sat in the other chair. Lee Jung Young merely walked into the room and introduced herself to the medical professionals.

"Before we begin, I must warn you that I am neither a doctor nor even a medical student. I have a PHD in Medical Science Via the Mayo Clinic and 30 years of working in that field. I've written three books, 25 articles, and 14 white papers. I have also received the Einstein award twice. I'm up for the Nobel this year.

"I say this not to impress you or to make you fear me. I just wish to establish the level of my competence." Auntie put on impressively thick spectacles and looked over the chart.

"The point where Min and I interact is in a rather interesting condition he has. So far we have seen strong allergies to petroleum products in liquid form, saline solution, several metals and all sugars except for fructose. We have not completed the list. Pure blood or any of its derivatives will be fine. His healing rate is faster than normal. I guess it's God's gift for taking away so much." She laughed a little to show it was a joke and the doctor and nurses responded appropriately.

Min Tae-yeon took Jung-in's hand from where she sat next to him. "Jung-in, they will do the surgery quickly. I will be fine."

Yoo pulled herself up and leaned over the bed. "You had better be. I want my husband back!" She watched his face flush as they wheeled him away.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21 **

Although they'd never expressed it to each other in real terms, Jung-in was sure Tae-yeon meant what he had been telling her. As she, Soon Bum, and Auntie waited for (and worried about) the inevitable final reveal, Jung-in couldn't help but wonder at the difference in Min's manor. His entire personality had changed when around her. It puzzled her.

Time seemed to drag, as it does in hospital waiting rooms. Soon Bum began pacing. About the third time past Lee, she kicked him in the shin. She then apologized most profusely. Soon Bum continued and three more cycles past Lee kicked him again in the shin… same spot. Lee apologized again and Hwang accepted the apology. This time, though, he continued only as far as the other side of Jung-in, where he sat.

"Min Jung-in?" A young woman removing her hair protection was standing at the entrance to surgery.

"That would be me." Yoo stood up, but so did everyone else. It would have been confusing if she weren't the young, female who spoke.

"If you could come with me a moment?"

That one sentence sounded like a death knell. It would have taken a massive mistake for them to have killed Min Tae-yeon, Yoo thought, but it could have been done. Worse would be that they had finally realized Min was a vampire. But why the quiet sympathy?

In the hallway stood the main surgeon, "I'm so very sorry Mrs. Min, but we did all we could. He'd just taken too much damage. Too much blood had been lost."

"Wait. What?" Jung-in had completely lost touch with reality. It sounded like they were saying Tae-yeon was dead, but of course her husband couldn't die. He was a vampire. Tae-yeon, especially Tae-yeon couldn't be dead. He lived through that explosion. He kept _her _safe in that explosion. She was talking to him less than an hour ago. See? He couldn't be dead.

"No. No, you don't understand. He can't die. He said we'd live forever."

The doctor pointed Yoo at the nurse and she in turn brought the grieving Jung-in back to her friends. The nurse murmured "I'm very sorry." before escaping back through the door.

Before the nurse could even turn for the door, Soon Bum was slipping his arm around Yoo's shoulder. Soon Bum was better than anyone at comforting people in shock. He'd had plenty of practice in his early years on the force. Now it came in handy as he dealt with his own shock and grief while helping Yoo Jung-in keep from being overwhelmed by hers.


	22. Post Script

**Post Script**

"Then the pact is agreed upon?"

_"More than agreed upon! I look forward to our new arrangement." _

"You'll not exceed the epidural hematoma unless I ask and will return when I ask?"

_"Except for advice given you. Besides why would I want to take on blood that is not my own?"_

"I give you access to my body four hours each night from midnight to four am, with the provisos you will not take blood from alive bodies and you will not interact with my current friends. Especially not Jung-in."

"_Ok. Then let's get off this slab before the coroner comes around! We'd survive, but I really don't want to go through any more healing just now."_

"Good idea you had: to 'Play Dead'."

_"I know."_

_Finis_


	23. Coda

**Coda**

About then Min's heart nearly stopped for real as the swinging doors of the post mortem room opened. The goofy face of Hwang Soon-Bum peered around the door. A huge smile accompanied with a smug squint in his eyes brought him full into the room. "You ladies shouldn't come in here." He said loudly. "What they did to the body!" Hwang winked, "you can hardly tell it's human.


End file.
